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Global IPTV market to touch $49 bn in 2015: MRG
MUMBAI: The global IPTV market will grow to $49 billion in service revenues and 113 million subscribers in 2015 as multi-screen video usage drives wireless services to new highs, according to MRG.
Systems revenue for the seven key CapEx IPTV products analyzed will grow to $4.8 billion in 2015, with set-top boxes STBs) representing about 60 per cent.
As consumers add Wi-Fi for using smart devices within their homes, market growth continues largely due to trends toward mobile lifestyle habits of 18-55-year-olds.
Based on semiannual updates of major global operators and their differentiating services and updated subscriber counts, Europe remains ahead of Asia in 2015 in IPTV subscribers, partially due to continued regulatory confusion in Asia.
By 2015 worldwide, at least 25 IPTV operators will have over 1 million subscribers, with nine having over three million, the US having two operators with over 7.5 million each and Europe having 12 IPTV operators with over one million each.
In a country-by-country analysis, Eastern Europe shows noteworthy resilience and innovation as illustrated by Romania’s 141 per cent subscriber growth over one year ago.
Smart TVs are still not impacting overall STB penetration, due to difficulty of TV makers in getting enough content rights and due to the slow replacement cycle of TVs in most parts of the world (making Smart TVs obsolete for new services). Generally IPTV operators are using integrated hybrid services (merging Satellite, DTT [Digital Terrestrial], IPTV and OTT [Streaming Video]) both defensively and offensively, often using a combination of these to supplement their IPTV services in an integrated EPG.
By offering integrated hybrid services, IPTV operators are able to offer additional integrated services not available on Smart TVs. Vodafone Germany, for example, is offering IPTV and Satellite, while using Broadband to offer VOD. In Australia, Telstra is using DTT for linear TV and the customers’ broadband service to deliver (streaming) movies from its BigPond service.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
